The Man of Plagues
by Undaed15
Summary: Companion piece to Zivon96's story The Last Stand. After the Warborn Union falls, a trio of Blackstone Legion Knights are sent to investigate the deaths of supply caravans and other fellow Legion members. They didn't know of the monster who resides up above the fortress, for the Man of Plagues is not to trifled with...
1. Chapter 1

"Damn barbarians," The lawbringer growled as he looked at the heads on the tree branches, "We take the fort but then these people come in and kill our convoys."

"Are we sure it was one of the survivors?" A peacekeeper said as she came up besides the lawbringer, "Might just be a wandering bandit hoping to cover their tracks."

"Bandits don't come this high," A female voice made the pair turn to see a conqueror, her ball and chain on her hip, "Besides, a bandit wouldn't attack a caravan with a bunch of Wardens guarding it."

"And even a group of bandits wouldn't be able to defeat the Wardens," A fourth and final voice chimed in, a Warden laid his sword across his back, "Too unorganized, even harder would be attacking with stealth, this place is almost devoid of cover."

"Which means a Viking," The lawbringer said as he looked at the heads, "Probably the same one who killed James and his soldiers."

"Don't tell me you believe that survivor," The Warden said with a laugh, "A single man killing a group of highly trained soldiers?"

"You've fought the Vikings," The lawbringer growled, "You know full well what they are capable of."

"Besides, if the reports were to be believed? That one man was one of those berserkers we hear about." The conqueror chimed in as the group started to move out.

"You mean one of those fools who run in screaming and swinging two axes?" The Warden scoffed, "Those thing could barely cut through wood much less our steel armor."

"And that is why I can't stand you new recruits," the lawbringer said as he lead them around a corner, "Always thinking you're more invincible than you are."

"We're starting to lose daylight," The peacekeeper said as her head looked towards the sky, "We need to find shelter soon."

"Agreed, scout ahead to find us a suitable spot." The lawbringer ordered, the woman nodding and running ahead.

"Sir…what if she encounters our…berserker?" The conqueror asked.

"She's a veteran of the assaults on the Viking forts, a front man of Apollyon," The lawbringer replied, "She'll be fine, probably safer than us three even."

"You're giving a supposed single Viking a lot of credit." The warden replied as the trio moved forward.

"A single man can kill an army given the right tools." The conqueror responded.

"A wise saying," The lawbringer said with a nod, "Where'd you hear that?"

"A…an old monk told me it." The woman said as her head looked at the ground, the lawbringer could tell something was off but decided to ignore it.

"Huh," The warden scoffed, "Only an army that's undisciplined."

The knight would have gone on, but a sudden sound of boots hitting the snow near him made him yelp.

"I found a spot," The peacekeeper said as she pointed up the pathway, "Some trees, good firewood, nice covering from the storm."

"Then let's make hastes, this cold is starting to make my joints freeze up." The lawbringer said with a shiver. The party made their way into the wooded area, the lawbringer using his halberd to fell a few limbs. The conqueror got a fire going while the warden set up tents, the peacekeeper disappeared off to hunt some game. Soon, a few rabbits where roasting over a fire as night started to settle, the soldiers taking their helmets off.

The lawbringer was an older man, bald, one eye scratched out while the warden was a blue eyed, brown haired youth. The peacekeeper was a dark haired woman whose age was much harder to determine while the conqueror was a blonde haired young woman barely out of her teens, the four started to pick and eat at the meat.

"So, I've been meaning to ask," The lawbringer said suddenly, "I know our peacekeepers story, but what's yours?"

"John the third," The warden said with a grin, "Heir to the house of Tec and one of the finest swordsman ever trained."

"You've got a lot to learn before you say that," The lawbringer said with a laugh before turning to the other woman, "And you?"

"Oh…Charlotte," The woman said, "I'm just a nobody from a prison back home, got out to join the conquerors."

"What was your crime?" John asked, only to be cut off by the peacekeeper.

"That's enough," The woman said, "It's not our duty to know everything about each other."

"Soliel's right," The lawbringer said in concurrence, "Her crimes are in the past."

"Fair enough," John said, "Besides, how bad could she be compared to these barbarians?"

"You keep calling them that," The lawbringer cut in, "Do you really think simple barbarians could drive us to the edges of the world?"

"Lucky," The warden responded, "They surprised the Iron Legion, pushed those weak fools back, then they got a taste of real knights when Apollyon attacked. Our steel broke their wills."

"Huh," The lawbringer laughed, "You know…they have an ancient riddle, what is stronger than steel?"

"What? What could possibly be stronger than steel?" John scoffed out.

"Flesh…their answer is flesh." The lawbringer said in a low voice, John scoffed again before the peacekeeper got to her feet and stamped out the fire. The rest of the group got the message, time to go to sleep.

Charlotte woke up to see a door in front of her, the door to an old confessional. Her small hand gently grabbed the handle and pulled it open, revealing the small dark room. Her short legs moved almost of their own volition as she entered that dark room, the door closing behind her, locking her in that dark room. She sat down on the small bench, squirming to get comfortable on the hard wood.

"Now…Charlotte," A male voice echoed from beyond the black grate, "What are your sins?"

Charlotte opened her mouth, but no words came forth, the girl grabbed her throat and tried to make a noise but all that came out was air.

"Are you telling me that you have no sins to confess? Pride is a sin, Charlotte," The voice said as the girl tried desperately to get out a few words, "Still nothing? Charlotte, do we need to have a talk face to face like last time?"

Charlottes eyes widened as those words came from the grate, before hearing the door opening on the other side. The footsteps echoed as the man came around to the other side of her door, the handle turning slowly. Charlotte grabbed at the handle on the other side, desperately trying to keep it closed, her small arms straining as the door was pulled open.

"Charlotte…have you been an evil girl?" The voice said as the claws of a beast started to come around the wood, "Charlotte? Charlotte? Get up Charlotte!"

The woman's eyes snapped open as she looked into the lawbringers helmet, he was shaking her awake.

"Did you see John leave the camp last night?" He asked wildly, Charlotte shook her head in shock, "Damn!"

"John!" The peacekeeper yelled as she looked around, her voice loud and shrill. Charlotte quickly grabbed her helmet and flail as she clamored up.

"What happened?" She asked, her voice full of panic.

"John wasn't here when we got up," The lawbringer said as he looked around, "We were hoping you would know something, like if he decided to go back down."

"His tracks end at the edge of camp," The peacekeeper responded, "Something swept them away during the night."

"Why didn't they slit out throats and be done with it?" The lawbringer asked in a rage, peacekeeper shrugged in anger as she started to comb the camp, looking for clues. Her search proved fruitless as she yelled in anger, throwing her weapons into the snow.

"Pick those up," The lawbringer ordered, "We complete the charge we've been given, we've still got three men."

"But if this so called berserker could take on a warden?" The peacekeeper asked, her voice low and steady, "We should turn back, return with a larger force, we can cover more ground."

"We can't turn back now," The lawbringer replied coldly, "The first melt is coming, soon the path over the mountain will be passable."

"This isn't just about avenging our men, is it?" Charlotte asked as she turned her back to the path upwards, "What aren't you telling us?"

"He's right," Soliel responded with a sigh, "This berserker might be a survivor of the War born Union, if he manages to find his Viking brethren, he'll be untraceable through the mountains."

"And the Viking's will know our defenses…hell…" Charlotte growled as her hand on her weapon tightened.

"We must find him before he goes over, otherwise, our life becomes a living hell." The lawbringer sighed, now you know why it's so important that we find this man."

"The fortress is too valuable to let it fall back into the Viking hands," The lawbringer continued, "If they take it, they'll have the perfect position to assault our lands."

"Yeah…I know what happens when they raid." Charlotte growled as her hand tightened on her weapon.

"Let's move out," Soliel said suddenly, "We've got ground to cover."

The pair nodded their agreement and followed the peacekeeper up the mountain path, their trek was slower than yesterday, the trio keeping an eye on all sides. The peacekeeper rounded the corner and suddenly her hand shot up, motioning the others to stop. Charlotte and the lawbringer paused, before looking over the corner as well.

"John?" Charlotte asked suddenly as she saw the helmet peeking over a rock, the metal gleaming in the morning sun.

"Wait…something's wrong here," Soliel said quietly, "Be careful."

The trio slowly moved forward, their eyes darting around to make sure someone wasn't about to ambush them. They reached the helm with Charlotte walking around, her gasp was enough to get the other twos attention. The peacekeeper moved around to see what Charlotte saw, and growled as she did.

"Damn savages," Soliel said as she picked up the head, feeling that it had more heft to it than it should have. She turned it around, and the head fell out, "Didn't even take the head as a trophy."

"Took its scalp." The lawbringer said as he looked over the head, "Why did he leave this here?"

"As a warning," Charlotte said as she looked around, "The berserker is trying to intimidate us."

"It would work for lesser men," Soliel said as she turned around, "We must press on, this savage can't be allowed to live."

"Agreed," The lawbringer said as he lifted up his halberd, "Let's go."

The two women nodded as they continued up the path, eventually coming across a narrow pass.

"I'll go first," The lawbringer ordered, "If he attacks from the front, my armor will protect me, wait for me to get to the other side."

The pair nodded as the man started passing through, the lawbringer slowly moved through the pass, his armor clinking the sides of the passage until he got to the other side.

"It's clear!" He yelled back, the two women looked at each other, before the peacekeeper started going through with Charlotte following. The pair exited the other side where the lawbringer was waiting, he gestured for them to follow and as the pair did, Charlotte felt something…like eyes were upon her. She turned around to see what appeared to be a man standing above the pass, body partly obscured by the flurry of snow. The flail wielder shook her head and looked up again, only for the man to have disappeared.

"Charlotte," The peacekeeper's voice shook her out of her stupor, "Everything OK?"

"Yes," Charlotte said as she turned to face her companions, "Let's keep moving."

As the trio moved ahead, the young woman couldn't help but feel like eyes were upon them all as the snow fell around them. Charlotte kept her head turning as the came across another tight pass, she sighed as they readied to enter it. The peacekeeper went first this time, her speed allowing her to make quick work of it all, or at least it would have.

"Ah!" Soliel screamed as the pair behind her heard a sharp metallic clang, the pushed through the rocks to see that the woman was on the ground, her leg in a bear trap. Charlotte cursed herself, of course the Viking would leave this favored implements around to cover his tracks.

"Hold still," The lawbringer growled as he moved around her to the other side, near the end of the pass, "Damn it, Charlotte, come here."

The woman nodded as she walked over, going to her knees.

"Grab the right side," The lawbringer ordered, the conqueror nodding and doing so, "Pull!"

The pair proceeded to pull as hard as they could, opening the teeth inch by inch until…Soliel ripped her leg back right before the teeth snapped shut.

"Damn…" Soliel groaned as she looked over her leg before turning her gaze to the lawbringer, "I can't go on in this condition."

"Agreed," The lawbringer growled, "We'll have to turn back…but we can at least tell them that this berserker is here…"

The lawbringer was cut off as he lifted his head, before scrambling to his feet and grabbing his halberd. Standing above them was the one thing he didn't want to see, a snarling, dual ax wielding, bearded man, who roared as he leapt down, slashing at the armored man, who deflected the blow away.

"Charlotte!" The lawbringer yelled, "Get Soliel out of here!"

The woman nodded as she picked up the smaller woman, holding the peacekeepers arm over her shoulder and dragging her away. Charlotte looked back to see that the barbarian was charging her commander, who was also charging with his halberd out. The berserker dodged the spear point, slamming one of his axes into the knight's torso. The lawbringers armor held, but as he swung his halberd around, the Viking rolled away, grabbing snow and throwing it at the man's eyes.

The lawbringer covered his eyes, only to feel strong arms wrapping around his stomach. He felt his heavily armored ass go into the air, before being thrown to the ground like a rag doll. The lawbringers eyes finally lined up with their holes, before seeing a snarling man leap on top of him. One of the duel axes tried to bury itself into the lawbringers skull, but the man managed to turn his head so one of the ax blades landed in the snow. The berserker growled as he lifted up another ax, this time the lawbringer managed to grab onto the holding it as it came down. The two men stared at each other, before the berserker let go of his ax, and slammed his fist into lawbringers helmet.

The sudden blow made the lawbringer flinch, allowing the berserker to wrap his hands around the armored man's throat. The lawbringer felt his throat constricting, the slobbering face of the berserker the only thing he could see. The berserker growled again as the armored man hands stopped beating back on his arms, before going flat onto the snow. The Viking growled as he looked up, barely making out the two women over the ridge.

He snarled as he grabbed his axes and started running, his eyes full of hate. Charlotte looked back to see the snarling barbarian, before stopping dead in her tracks as she came across a small ravine. It wasn't deep, but it was slopped, if she fell, her and Soliel could expect a long slide down.

"Charlotte," Soliel muttered, "Go…Leave me behind."

"What?" The woman said as she looked at the peacekeeper, who shook her head.

"With my leg like this, I'm slowing you down," Soliel growled, "I've met berserkers, they will run you down as soon as they can…this one is different…he planned for us, set traps. You need to warn them, warn them that he's smarter than they'd realize."

"Soliel…I…" The conqueror stuttered before hearing the snarl of the berserker made her head shoot up. His form came racing down incline, Charlotte opened her mouth to speak…before an axe came out of nowhere. The woman yelped as she raised her shield, throwing the peacekeeper down the ravine before following herself as she lost her balance. The two women landed and slid down the slippery rock's, Charlotte screamed as she was suddenly launched off the incline onto the cold hard ground.

Charlotte scrambled to her feet, her nightgown billowing behind her as she kept running.

"Charlotte! Get back here!" The monster called out for him, it's deep, guttural voice filling the hallway. The young girl whimpered as she ran into the dining hall, "Little Charlotte, you've been a bad girl…let me help you."

Charlotte quickly ran under the table, her little hands and feet pushing aside the chairs to get under it.

"I know you're under there," The voice rang out, Charlotte could see the mottled flesh of the monsters legs as it walked up to the table, "Come out…we need to talk."

The monster leaned down, only to get a kick to the face. The monster roared in pain as it reached under and grabbed her by the ankle, pulling her out before throwing her onto the table.

"You bitch…" The monster growled as it started fiddling with something behind Charlottes vision, the little girl's mind was racing. She looked around quickly, before spying a knife on the table. She could feel the monsters hands closing around her thighs as it raised itself up, her little hands grabbed the knife's handle…and she whirled around, slamming the blade into the creature's throat.

The howl that sounded jarred Charlotte out of her stupor, her eyes snapping around to see Soliel currently deflecting a blow from the Berserker. His wild eyes following the peacekeeper as she tried to move back, spittle flying as he kept swinging. The berserker's first ax blow was deflected, his second ax barely missing the peacekeeper as he followed up. Soleil was still being forced back however, her wounded leg not helping the entire situation. The man growled as he lashed out with his head, slamming it into her masked face.

Normally, that kind of blow wouldn't help considering the helmet…but the Berserkers fury was far too great to be assailed by such a pitiful concept as pain. Soleil was set back as her head rang, only for the Viking to push her to the ground. Charlotte looked around desperately, her weapon was nowhere to be found…until her hand brushed a metallic object.

She picked it up, it was a sword of odd design, being shorter than most of the blades she had seen, however it still would serve its purpose. The woman slowly got to her feet, before yelling as she charged in. The Viking whirled around, skillfully dodging the thrust. The berserker growled as he lashed out with a right hook that sent her to the ground, he raised his ax to finish her before he screamed as a blade entered his leg.

His eyes snapped to Soleil, whose dagger was poking out of his lower leg, the howl of pain was more animal than man as he once again raised his ax. That's when another war cry filled the air, the trio turned to see a halberd bury itself into the berserkers shoulder. The lawbringer roared as he pushed the Viking off the point, sending him into a nearby table. The wood shattered as the man's weight collided with, sending its contents all across the cave.

A soft thud attracted Charlotte's attention to her foot, her eyes snapped to a doll. It was a simple thing, a girl in a dress, but it was the eye's that got her attention. They were made of iron buttons…like her old…

"Stop!" Charlotte yelled as the Lawbringer raised his ax blade, the armored man looking back at her, "We can't kill him."

"And why is that?" The man yelled as he looked at the woman with a snarl.

"She's right," Soleil said as she got to her feet, "He might not be the only survivor, if there are more…he might lead us to them."

That idea gave the lawbringer pause…Charlotte and Soleil could see the man mulling the idea over…before growling and grabbing the man. The berserker snarled, before a fist clocked him in the jaw.

"Tie him up," The lawbringer ordered, "Gag him, I've see his kind before…he'll gnaw his way out of his bindings."

Soleil nodded as she grabbed some rope from her pack and set to binding, Charlotte picked up said doll and tucked it away. The conqueror looked around at the cave, it was obviously the man's home, a bedroll had been set up as well as a fire pit, various bits of bone and plant matter was left out, a fire pit that had been stamped out a short while ago, and various pieces of armor. Charlotte noticed that the Lawbringer was holding something, the woman moving around to see that it was a helmet with a plume unlike anything she had seen before.

"Commander," She said after clearing her throat, "What's that?"

"Nothing," He said gruffly, before throwing it aside, "Just a foolish notion that some have gotten into their heads."

Charlotte almost started to say something before Soleil cut her off.

"Commander, come take a look at this." The peacekeeper said, the lawbringer following suit. Charlotte looked at the helmet before following, the smaller woman was holding a large piece of paper.

"A map?" Charlotte asked as she approached.

"That's not just a map," The lawbringer said with a little bit of surprised, "It's a map detailing routes through the mountain, not just the commonly known ones either. These are routes of our caravans, shortcuts to the fort, everything an attacking army would need to know."

"How did he find such a treasure?" Soleil asked as she looked at the map, "We've never had reports of someone spying on us."

"Look at it," The man said, "Some of that's Godric's writing, some of its Magnus, but no samurai…more than likely, this was a plan in case the fort fell…but that doesn't explain this however."

The lawbringer pointed at a few of the other marks, made with a more rough hand that detailed routes through the mountain to a certain point that had almost no significance if you'd didn't know what was there.

"I think our berserker has been scouting," The lawbringer said as he traced the lines with his finger, "or he and his allies have been."

"So it was a good thing we found him," Charlotte said with a smile, "Otherwise our lives would have been a living hell."

"Soliel," The lawbringer called out, "Study the map, see if there is a route that'll be faster, Aryen will want to see this immediately."

The peacekeeper nodded as she started studying the map before the man turned to face Charlotte.

"You help her, I'll keep an eye on the prisoner. Be sure to get some rest for the night, we'll be here for a while." The lawbringer ordered as he turned to tend to the Viking.

The woman nodded as she said down at the table with the peacekeeper, who grabbed her leg in pain.

"Won't be able to walk for a while," Soleil groaned, "So…why did you pick up that doll?"

Charlotte pulled the doll out of her pack and stared at it before responding.

"It…it reminded me of something, something that happened many years ago." The conqueror said as she looked over it.

"So, you saving the Viking had nothing to do with the other potential survivors?" The peacekeeper asked, getting a curt nod in response. The woman shrugged as she got to her feet and moved over to what appeared to be a tent made of animal hide, Charlotte put the doll back and looked around some more. She stopped at something, however, on the wall was a symbol, it appeared to be a blue circle with a red skull with a sword through it.

She was puzzled by this, but shook it off as she walked over to the tent as well, she opened the flap to see that Soliel was already fast asleep. The tent was larger than it appeared, giving the two women plenty of room to rest. Charlotte sighed as she took off her helmet and set it to the side, before laying down on a nearby bedroll.

"Charlotte…stay there and don't come out…" Charlotte's mother whispered as she pushed Charlotte's small body to the back of the closet, "Don't make a sound either."

"But mother…" Charlotte started before the door was shut in her face, only a crack was visible that she could see out of. The young girl stared at the room, a small one with a table and fire pit, her small doll with its iron eyes was only a stone's throw away from her. A loud crash filled the air, Charlotte's eyes snapped upwards to see that the Vikings had breached the door.

Her mother yelped as one of them grabbed her and threw her aside, it was a group of four, but the one that stood out the most was a huge man with an axe. He yelled something in the Viking language and the others started tearing the place apart but his eyes went to Charlotte's mother, he laughed and said something else in their tongue that made the men stop and walk over to his sides.

One of the men responded in kind, but his tone was full of fear. The bigger man responded in what appeared to be a reassuring tone before moving and blocking Charlotte's view, the little girls ears heard what sounded like cloth ripping. The men started laughing as an odd sound filled the air, one that the girl had never heard before. The woman started moaning as the sound got louder, the big man laughing even harder.

Suddenly, a loud voice filled the air, the four men all whirled around to see an even bigger man, this one wearing leather and chain. His beard was thick and combed, but he stepped forward, showing his blade in his hands. He appeared to be looking over the situation, before yelling in turn. The other bearded man stepped forwards making a response, the bigger man looked at the woman, before laughing. After an awkward pause, the others started laughing too.

The bigger man stepped forward, putting his hands on the other big man…before stabbing him through the chest. The stabbed man's eyes widened as he looked at the blade in his chest before it was pulled out, the bigger man turned around and seized another by the throat before throwing him aside. He whirled around, burying his blade into a third man's shoulder, tearing it apart. He then walked over to the final man and asked him a question, the man stammered out a response and the big man pointed at the exit.

The man stammered something else before running out as the big man moved over to the woman on the ground, she had started reaching for the closet. The big man looked over and started walking over to Charlotte, the little girl moved back as the man got closer. The Viking didn't even open the door, he just leaned down and picked up her small doll before turning to her mother. He then walked over, putting the doll in his pack as he did, and picked the woman up bridal style and walked out.

Charlotte was woken up by Soleil shaking her.

"It's time to go." The peacekeeper said as she helped the woman up.


	2. Chapter 2

Charlotte hauled the berserker up to his feet, the man complying without even a grunt. She took a step back as she realized that he was a full head taller than her, the woman quickly shook the thought out of her head as she grabbed his shoulder and pushed him towards the cave's exit. Soliel quickly ran up and tapped Charlotte on the shoulder, the taller woman turned her head.

"We found a shorter path through the mountains," She said as she gestured to the man, "Our friend here is either really clever at finding paths through the mountain or he has allies who are far better at scouting than he."

Charlotte nodded as she shoved the man again, the man growling a bit as he started walking, his hands bound before him. The lawbringer was outside, taking note of the landscape, he turned as the women walked out with their prisoner.

"Captain Richard," Soliel responded, "Have you seen the route marked on the map?"

"Aye," The lawbringer now known as Richard said as he pointed his halberd at a nearby ridge, "That's our route, should allow us to make it down the mountain in less than a day."

"Let's just hope none of his friends are near," Charlotte muttered, "That would make our job far more difficult."

The Viking looked at the conqueror before she shoved him again, the four following the path downward into the mountain. The path was long and winding, however, it wasn't difficult to navigate. Charlotte had been worried that the Viking's bound hands would make it difficult for him to navigate, but the man seemed to know this path like the back of his hand. Richard didn't have the same luck, his armor caused him some difficulty as they moved downward. Its weight wasn't helped by his halberd, which seemed to clang against the rocks every time he moved.

"If he had allies," Soliel commented, "Then they won't have a hard time locating us."

The lawbringer growled as he moved forward, doing his best to prevent the metal from clanging more than necessary. The peacekeeper moved throughout the cracks without much difficulty, her slender form navigating the rock without incident. The conqueror's only difficulty navigating was her morning star, which kept banging into her leg and the wall.

However, the route did seem to hold merit as they came out over a ridge that perfectly overlooked the prison camp, Richard breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the fires burning below. The trio of knights spotted a nearby path downward and shoved the Viking down towards it, he growled before he started walking down ahead of the trio. They stopped ahead of the makeshift entrance with two black stones looked over them, a Raider and another Conqueror.

"Richard," The knight yelled as the group approached, "Did you find the bastards who were attacking the caravans?"

"Found _him,_ " The lawbringer growled as he shoved the Viking forward, "Only bastard who we could find."

The raider walked forward and got a good look at the berserker, the man standing around his height before taking a step back in shock.

"Commander…may I have a word with you?" The Viking asked.

"Who are you?" The lawbringer growled, "I have not seen your face."

"He's one of our reinforcements," The conqueror responded, "Arrived yesterday."

The lawbringer growled before looking him dead in the eyes, "What is it you have to say?"

The raider cleared his throat before looking nervously at the other two knights.

"That man is known as Bjorn the Plague…he was Magnus's bro…" The raider started before a snarl from the berserker cut him off, Charlotte grabbed the man as he charged at the raider, his teeth snapping shut. The berserker clearly wanted to tear out the man's throat at that comment, the raider growled as he continued, "He was Magnus's brother, a warlord himself. It's said that he faced Apollyon in battle, and defeated her, driving her off."

"Bah," Richard spat, "A savage like him couldn't match Apollyon, but…you said he was Magnus's brother?"

The raider nodded and the lawbringer grabbed his helmeted chin in thought before turning to the other two members of his party.

"Throw him in a cell, I need to talk to Aryen about this." Richard growled, the women nodded and dragged the berserker away.

"Sir," The conqueror said as they watched the man being led away, "Aryen is away, he was investigating the ruins of the fort. He will not return for a day at least."

"I see," Richard said before looking at the tents, "Order a horse to be saddled, I intend to ride out within the hour."

 **In the camp…**

Bjorn growled as the Blackstones jeered at him, mocking him as he passed. One even threw a rock at him, only to have the woman in the metal armor walked forward and slam her fist into his face.

"This man is our prisoner," The smaller woman yelled suddenly, "He has not been judged to be a wolf or a sheep, however, I feel like if I let him lose, he'll prove it to us."

The man took the hint and let the trio pass, the berserker looked at the small woman with silent eyes before turning his head forward. The trio walked towards the prisoner's side of the camp, some were tied to stakes while others were in cells. They all strained their necks to see the new prisoner, some even gasped as they recognized him.

A warden walked forward, his hand on his blade. He looked up at the man in front of him before looking at the two women guiding him.

"Who's this? Find while mopping up?" The warden growled.

"No," Soliel said, "He's the one who was attacking our food supplies."

"That so?" The warden growled as his hand tightened on his blade.

"Richard ordered him to be put in a cell." Charlotte ordered.

"A cell? Why not the stakes? Be a lot more fitting for him." The warden growled as he grabbed Bjorn.

"Its orders from Richard, do you really wish to defy him?" Soliel said with a smile under her mask, "Do you remember what happened to the last man who disobeyed his orders?"

"No…" The warden muttered.

"Exactly, they never found the body…do you really wish to argue?" The peacekeeper asked, the warden took a deep breath and dragged Bjorn to the cell. The wooden door opened as he shoved the berserker in, slamming it shut behind him. The Viking got to his feet with nary a sound as he looked at the warden before sitting down in front of the door, the knight growled as he walked away.

"Berserker?" A voice made the Bjorn turn to see his cellmate, a huge man, wearing a mask. The man looked forward again before the man behind him spoke again, "Animal man?"

The Viking growled as he turned to face him again, the big man looking at him with a certain amount of interest. Bjorn growled as he got to his feet and walked over to the man and stood in front of him, the Viking growled as he looked the man dead in the eyes before he sat down. The big man didn't say anything before a yelp made them both jump, they turned to see a woman in a mask nearby jumping…albeit not far as her hands were tied to a stake that had been impaled to the ground.

"Yumiko," The big man said in a comforting tone, "Dream."

The woman looked around in a panic before realizing that she had a new neighbor, she stared at him quizzically…a faint memory surfacing to her mind before he growled and looked away.

"Dream?" The big man asked sympathetically in Japanese.

"It's nothing Gorou," The woman replied in kind, "Just a nightmare…about lady Yuki."

The Viking suddenly looked at the two at the mention of that name, a snarl jumped to his lips as he growled.

"Do either of you speak the knights language?" He said in the respective language, the pair looked at each other and nodded as Yumiko looked at him.

"I do," The woman said with a bit of a surprised tone, "Lady Yuki taught me."

"What happened?" The Viking asked, "I was out in the hills when the attack came, how did the fort fall?"

"Blackstones attacked, Magnus and Godric fought valiantly but they fell…and Lady Yuki…" The woman looked away, "I failed her…I failed her…I should be dead alongside her…"

"Yumiko…" The big man started before a growl cut him off.

"You should be," The Viking responded, "You all should be."

The pair looked at him with a bit of shock.

"All of you, we took you in and look were it got us…" The berserker growled, "We should have massacred Godric when he came to us, we should have slaughtered him and his men were they stood. We should have slaughtered you as well…"

The pair looked at him as he got to his feet.

"All of you…this Union killed him…it killed Magnus," The berserker growled, "It killed him…it slaughtered my people…how many dead because we allowed our enemies to join."

Bjorn stepped forward towards Yumiko, the bars separating them.

"You should be dead, we should have slaughtered you," The berserker growled once again, "If we hadn't protected you, we could have moved along. Escaped this carnage…but no, we had to fight because out numbers were too large to escape quick enough."

The Viking growled as he grabbed the bars.

"And you bastard should be dead as well, you've brought nothing to us but ruin. Your bows failed us, your warrior's code failed us, and your blades failed us!" Bjorn yelled as he gripped the bars even tighter, "You should be dead…shouldn't you have all split your bellies? Do you not dishonor your lady with every breath you take? At least if you were dead, you could apologize to her for your failure to protect your allies! You all are cowards! Too afraid to end your worthless lives! You're a disgrace to your people! We all are!"

Yumiko had been shocked into silence while the big man started to get to his feet.

"Damn all of you!" Bjorn shouted, "Damn all of you to hell! Damn Godric and Yuki! Damn Magnus's pride! Damn the Blackstones! Damn you samurai! Damn you Apollyon!"

The big man reached out towards the man, who fell to his knees with a sob.

"Damn you all…damn you to Hel…" The Viking sobbed, "Damn me as well…I don't deserve her love."

The big man looked down at the sobbing Viking before sitting down himself, noting the snow on the man's hair. He hadn't seen another human for days, no wonder he broke down as soon as he saw the two of them. The big man looked over at Yumiko and could hear her almost silent cries, he whispered something in Japanese to her before hearing the Viking shift himself. He crawled over to the other side of the cell and laid down, he was clearly tired.

He turned to Yumiko and started speaking again, but she didn't respond. The big man looked at the ground with a sigh, this wasn't going to be easy.

 **In the camp…**

Charlotte navigated her way through the temporary food temp, the soldiers were all celebrating the fact that they would get fresh food and booze in the near future as they ate and drank their larder. Charlotte felt a few clasps on her shoulder and back as she passed by, as well as a few on her ass but she knew that she wouldn't be able to find those who touched it. Finally, she saw the person she was looking for, the raider she had seen at the gate was drinking some of the Viking mead they had looted from the fort.

He had just refilled his mug from a nearby cask when he noticed her approaching, he laughed as he grabbed another one and filled it for her. The woman nodded as she grabbed it and started drinking it, it tasted like piss to her…but it was bearably piss nonetheless. She looked at the raider as he downed his drink before looking at her with a grin on his face.

"What can I do for you, oh great knight?" He asked as he took another drink, he was clearly drunk by this point.

"I wanted to know more about Bjorn the Plague." She asked, earning a laugh from the man.

"There's a lot of them," The man laughed out, "Some say he's the spawn of a bear and Satan, other say that he was Apollyon's bastard, and even more say that he's a knight in disguise."

"A knight in disguise? I thought you said he and Magnus were brothers?" Charlotte asked in a slightly annoyed tone.

"I said they were legends," The man said with a hiccup, "I heard that he was the elder brother of Magnus Bear Eater and that he supposedly disappeared when Magnus was young, his father thought him dead but years later…he returned! Imagine that, turning up on your family's doorstep after your younger brother is becoming a man!"

"I can imagine…" Charlotte replied, her curiosity peeked.

"After that, he somehow knew were to raid to receive the best loot, albeit without the glory of raiding whatever seems good. He was known for raids that left little glory to be gotten through blood and when he joined forces with another Viking, he was known for keeping his men's temperament small."

"Small?" Charlotte asked.

"He refused to allow his men to follow peasants as they ran away, he refused to let them rape, and he supposedly killed his best friend for defying him." The Viking said with a grin.

"I see…" The conqueror said as she contemplated this information.

"But the strangest legend was about his wife," The raider said as he took another drink, "Supposedly, he came back from a raid one day with a woman from Ashfield in tow, she was supposedly wounded in the raid and he took pity on her. She couldn't go back because after she healed, the winter had come. Her constitution wasn't strong enough to survive a trip on the seas, so she stayed with Bjorn during the months. The spring came and Bjorn set off again, leaving her behind, but supposedly he had a set jawline when he left."

The man took another drink.

"His raid took three months with periodic stops back at his land, supposedly the woman would stare at the horizon longer and longer every time he left. However, one day, the ship returned with Bjorn wounded, a warden had gotten in a strike on a return journey and he arrived home with a ghastly wound. The woman supposedly never left his side as he healed, helping him walk when he needed it. Shortly after he healed, he was seen lighting a pyre with her by his side. Shortly after that, he married her and they had a child together."

"He…married her?" Charlotte asked in a surprised tone.

"Aye," The raider responded, "I don't know what happened to her, but I hear that she's dead now."

"How did she die?" The woman responded.

"As I said, I don't know," The raider said as he finished his drink, "Why don't you ask him yourself?"

The conqueror looked at the raider before she got to her feet and stormed out, passing Soliel on her way out. The peacekeeper looked at her friend in concern as she passed, Soliel followed behind her. The conqueror stormed past the new warden who was guarding the prisoners, another lawbringer, as she came to the cell were Bjorn was held. She stared at him as he noticed her and got to his feet, a snarl on his lips.

"Where did you get this?" Charlotte asked as she pulled out the doll from his lair, the Viking looked at the doll before roaring as he collided into the door, reaching for it.

"Give that back!" He yelled.

"Where did you get this?" Charlotte asked again, more forcefully this time.

"Go to hell! Give that back you whore! It belongs to my daughter!" The man screamed as he reached out for it.

"Your daughter?" The woman snarled, "You gave this trophy to your daughter?"

"Trophy?!" The man growled, "It belongs to my daughter! It's all I have left of her!"

"Her?" Charlotte asked, "Do you mean the woman you kidnapped from her home all those years ago?"

"Kidnapped, how would you know about…unless…" The man suddenly stopped struggling, "Charlotte?"

"My name is Charlotte…" The woman said before the man cut her off.

"Your mother's name was Elizabeth…wasn't it?" The berserker asked, a smile forming on his face, "A blonde woman of utmost beauty and grace?"

"My mother's name was Elizabeth and you admit to kidnapping her?" Charlotte growled.

"No…she had been wounded, violated by my brothers…I couldn't allow that…you are…by the gods…or by Jove…Charlotte…" Bjorn whispered, "I wanted to tear apart all of Ashfield to find you…to reunite you and your mother…I should have looked harder."

"Shut up barbarian," The conqueror yelled as she seized him by the throat, "You kidnapped her and you raped her to spawn your child!"

The man laughed suddenly.

"I prayed for roses, I prayed for sun, I prayed for love, and I prayed for you," He whispered, the woman's eyes went wide as she let the man go, "I remember that…your mother would sing that to her children at night…a lullaby."

Charlotte looked at him for a few seconds, before turning around and storming off. The berserker watched as she left, before turning to see the small woman nearby. She was toying with her dagger and staring at the man with deadly intent, the woman walked forward and stared the man dead in his eyes.

"I should kill you," She growled as she readied her dagger, "For making her cry."

"Woman…Soliel was it?" Bjorn said with a smile, "Please do…for if I die…it would be a good death."

The woman stared at him, before turning and walking off. The berserker turned to the big man in his cell, he walked over and patted his head. The man looked up in confusion as Bjorn turned to the cell door and started bellowing out a song, the song reached out far and wide going beyond the camp and reaching the ears of two others.

"What the hell is that?" Layla asked.

"It…it's nothing." Hilde answered as she turned to walk away.


	3. Chapter 3

Bjorn said nothing as they dragged him to the block, where a lawbringer was waiting. He wasn't wearing the usual helmet, just a hood over his face. Bjorn could here the grunting as they hauled the big Shugoki next to him. Both of their hands were bound in metal cuffs, it seems that they didn't want to take any chances. The lawbringer stepped forward, a frown on his face.

"What's this?" The man asked, "I was not told that we had already started weeding out the sheep."

"Orders from the captain," The head knight said as he pointed to Bjorn, "He's to be the first, an example. He's too mad to be useful, more likely he'd turn on us."

The Lawbringer growled as he looked at Bjorn before looking at Gorou.

"And him?" The man asked.

"He's too big to keep feeding," Another of the knights answered, "Too keep one of his kind in fighting shape is too much to ask."

"Pragmatism then," The lawbringer growled as he hefted his weapon, "Bring up the Viking, we'll start with him."

Bjorn said nothing as they hauled him to his feet, shoving him forward. The Viking only grunted as he walked towards the stump, they had clearly just cut it for the occasion. His footsteps barely registered to himself as he stepped forward, a single thought entering his mind. A single word: Peace.

"Yea, though I walk through the shadow of death," Bjorn muttered to himself, "I shall fear no evil, thy staff and thy rod comfort me."

"What's this?" The Lawbringer asked as the Viking got closer, "Are you praying?"

"No…not praying," Bjorn said as he looked at the man dead in the eyes, "Remembering, I do not pray. Tell me, are you a religious man?"

"Hold they tongue, knave!" The lawbringer growled as he slammed his fist into the Viking face, a sliver of blood going down Bjorn's jaw, "Thou aren't worthy to speak to thine executioner."

"So you believe that you art a better man then?" Bjorn laughed as he continued towards the block, "Talking like you are a priest of god?"

"Silence, heretic!" The lawbringer growled as he shoved Bjorn to the ground, the Viking grunting as he got up, "Thou art not worthy to speak to a man of god nor to speak his divine word."

"Funny," Bjorn said as he arrived at the block, "Because thy acted as my Simon."

"On thy knees!" The lawbringer roared as he slammed his weapons shaft into Bjorn back knee, forcing him to them. Another man placed his foot onto Bjorn's back, holding him down as the man readied his blade, "Any final words?"

"The flies…I'm happy to be free of the buzzing of the flies as they eat the corpses of you daft knights." Bjorn choked out before the lawbringer growled as he raised his ax blade. Bjorn closed his eyes, he knew what would happen. The blade would come down and his head would twitch for a few heartbeats. He only hoped his head lasted long enough to convince these bastards that he was possessed.

That's when the sound of a horn rang out, across the lands everything stopped. Soldiers stopped eating, sharpening, and drinking, prisoners stopped praying, and the executioner didn't swing his ax as he looked up at the source. Bjorn opened his eyes as well, seeing the horde of horsemen coming down the hill. Bjorn recognized the banner they flew, the Steeds of the damned…old Halvdan was finally fighting then. The Viking chuckled, everyone would be slaughtered, everyone wearing Blackstone colors…everyone…including…

The lawbringer barely had time to react as Bjorn suddenly roared, throwing off his warden. The lawbringer quickly tried to swing his weapon, but Bjorn simply slammed his shoulder into the man.

" _Miserum!_ " Bjorn yelled as the two clattered to the ground, the Viking quickly crawling up to the man's face. The lawbringers shook off his daze as his once captive looked him in the eyes, only for him to plunge his teeth into the lawbringers throat. The rest of the men stare in shock, only for a cry of fear to sound out. They turned to see that Gorou had knocked down one of their two men holding him and had sat on him, the big man growled as he quickly brought a leg down onto the man's skull.

"You two deal with him!" One of the knights yelled, pointing at Bjorn, "I've got the big one."

The two men nodded as they drew their blades and readied to fall on Bjorn, who had gotten to his feet. The commander quickly turned to face Gorou, who was still sitting. He raised his blade and charged with a war cry.

"For Apollyon!" He screamed as he brought his blade down, only for his hands to be caught by the big man. The knight yelped as he looked down to see the cuffs on the floor, he didn't have time to ponder as Gorou grabbed his throat and picked him up. The knight's blade fell to the ground as Gorou squeezed harder and harder until he heard a snap, the knight going limp. The big man didn't hesitate as he grabbed the sword and looked over at Bjorn, whose back was against a wooden rampart.

"Viking!" Gorou yelled, earning the attention of the trio, as he threw the blade. Bjorn grabbed it as he looked at the two men with a snarl, one of them charged screaming, only for Bjorn to side step and drive the blade into his stomach. The man's intestines spilled into the snow as the other man followed up, attempted to stab Bjorn as his blade was still lodged into the man's stomach. The Viking let go of the blade, narrowly dodging the weapon as he grabbed a dagger the dying man was carrying.

Bjorn quickly closed the distance, grabbing the knight and jamming the blade in between his ribs. The man gasped as he fell, Bjorn letting him fall to the ground. He looked over to see Gorou finished off the final knight, the one he knocked over, by stomping on his neck. The Viking turned to the man with his guts in front of him, retuning to him. He quickly grabbed the sword and pulled it out of the man, the man falling down to stare at the sky.

Bjorn turned to the camp as the horsemen struck it, he wiped the blood of the lawbringer off his mouth and started towards it, pausing as he heard foot steps behind him. He turned to see Gorou following him, carrying a makeshift club from one of the various stakes behind him.

"You coming with me?" Bjorn asked, earning a nod from the big man. The Viking nodded his consent as he walked forward, stopping as he saw an axe embedded in a nearby stump. The berserker walked over and grabbed it before continuing on his way.

 **In the camp…**

Charlotte held up her shield to block the strike coming from a Viking blade, a growl coming to her lips. She swung her flail around, hitting his arm, crushing the bone. The man readied the second strike, only to gasp in pain as his ax suddenly fell to the ground. The man followed, revealing the unmasked Soliel. She looked up at Charlotte, examining the woman.

"Are you all right?" The peacekeeper asked as she turned to ensure that no one was sneaking up on the pair.

"I'm fine, merely caught off guard," Charlotte replied as she stared around at the chaos, "What happened?"

"I don't know." Soliel said as she looked around the chaos, her lips curled upward into a snarl.

"I thought the Viking's had called their banners, who are these barbarians?" The conqueror said as she looked around.

"I had heard tales that another clan of Vikings where in the area," Soliel answered, "The Steeds of the Damned, but last I heard, they had also called their banner."

"Whatever the case," Charlotte said, "We need to regroup, where's Richard?"

"He just returned from the fort," Soliel answered as she readied herself as well, "He should be at the main tent."

"Then that's where we need to go," Charlotte said as she looked around to get a vantage before pointing it out, a flag flapping in the wind, "That way, let's go."

The pair started running, dodging the various skirmishes that they saw as well as the spears of the horsemen. A few of the men where off horses, fighting the members of the Blackstones, but they paid no mind to the two women. The pair continued across the camp, stopping at the sight of the command tent. It was a large clearing where a group of Blackstones had erected a line of defense, desperately trying to keep the warriors off them.

"There!" Charlotte yelled as she turned to face Soliel, only to yelp as she narrowly dodged a sword blow. Some of the attackers had snuck up behind them, it seems. Charlotte held up her shield to block the next blow from the man, she looked around to see that Soliel situation was no better as she parried a blow from an attacker. The conqueror growled as she turned to face her opponent, blocking another sword blow as she tried to wind up her weapon.

The man growled as he moved in, shoving himself into her shield. Charlotte groaned as he pushed her back, he clearly had experience fighting knights as he closed the distance, preventing her from readying a blow. The man smiled as he grabbed his sword, readying a stab. The conqueror suddenly dropped her weapon, grabbing the mace head as it fell.

She roared as she slammed it into his head, the primal ferocity of her attack driving the man's skull in. He moaned as she followed up again, her blow caving in more of his skull. The pair fell back into a tent, the woman roaring as she pushed him off her. She quickly leapt out of the tent, only to see that Soliel situation had gotten worse. A second opponent had seized her from behind as her original opponent readied his blade.

"Soliel!" Charlotte yelled, only to feel a pair of hands grab her from behind. Another assailant had snuck up on her, this one held her in a vice grip. Charlotte squirmed as she tried to buck the man off of her, screaming in that primal fury that lay in all of mankind. The man suddenly threw her to the ground, readying an ax blade. The woman attempted to raise her shield, only for the man to step on it. He roared as he raised his ax, Charlotte looked at his face with fear, knowing this was the end.

A silent prayer fell from her lips as the man readied to bring the ax down, the woman closed her eyes, expecting the blow. She shuddered as she felt something wet hit her face, only to open her eyes as the sound clattering metal came to her ears. She looked as her assailant fell down, she could see the ax embedded into his back. She looked behind him to see a face she never wanted to see again, a second woodcutting ax in his other hand.

"Charlotte," Bjorn growled as he grabbed her arm, "Get up, you'll die here if we don't escape."

"Soliel!" Charlotte yelled as she turned, only to see that Bjorn had not come alone. She marveled one of the samurai, a Shugoki she believed they were known as, grabbed a man's skull and crushed it with his bare hands. Soliel, using this distraction, was able to flip over her enemies back, grabbing his throat from behind in her elbow and crushing it.

"Soliel," Charlotte yelled as she ran over, "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," The Peacekeeper answered as she looked at their saviors, "Bjorn…what are you doing here?"

"Some gratitude," The Viking growled, "I'm saving your life."

"Saving our lives?" Soleil laughed, "From what? Our line is just over yonder!"

"Oh, you mean that line?" Bjorn replied as he looked over at the women's goal, the pair's eyes following, only to see the commander of the line being brutally decapitated by a man with a huge sword.

"Well shit," Charlotte muttered as she looked at Bjorn, thinking how easily killing him now would be, "Do you have a plan?"

"Aye, I do," he said as he turned to face the pair, "First thing, rip off your tabard."

"What?" Charlotte yelped, "Absolutely not! We'll freeze!"

"And if you don't, you're a target." Bjorn growled as he looked around.

"Charlotte," Soliel said, earning the woman's attention, "He's right, we can worry about freezing to death later."

Charlotte opened her mouth to protest but closed it as she thought it over, her tabard displayed the colors of the legion rather brightly so it made sense if she was escaping. The woman growled as she grabbed her tabard and pulled it off, Soliel following suit.

"Alright," Bjorn growled as he turned to the women, "I saw a clear route on our way to find you two, hopefully it's clear now but I highly doubt fate will smile upon us."

The two women nodded as they followed Bjorn alongside their new Shugoki ally, chaos rang around them as they barreled through tents and clearings. Bjorn cursed in the Viking tongue as he came across what was once his clear path, now covered in warriors. The man growled as he readied his ax, only to be picked up off his feet as a Blackstone raider blindsided him. The Berserker yelped as he was thrown off, the Vikings knee nailing him in the head. Bjorn looked around in a daze as the huge Viking raised his ax, only to scream in pain as he felt a blade enter his knee.

Bjorn shook his head and leaped upon the Raider, pushing him back. The Viking glanced over to see that Soliel had turned her back to work on fighting another opponent, a Warden. Gorou and Charlotte where back to back holding off two Viking warriors, a raider and a Valkyrie. Bjorn growled as he turned to his opponent, the raider shoving him off. The Berserker and Raider locked eyes for a brief moment, the primal savagery of the two begging to be let loose. The pair roared as they charged, Bjorn narrowly leaping out of the way of a Dane ax and attempting to follow up by leaping at his opponent.

The Raider snarled as he blocked the twin axes with his shaft, parring the blow and knocking the Berserker to the ground. Bjorn quickly rolled away from the ax head as it was brought down, the Berserker followed up with a kick to the Raiders leg. The man roared in pain as Bjorn jumped to his feet, a snarl on his lips as the Raider recovered. Bjorn readied his axes and roared as he charged into an attack, the Raider raised his weapon to block…only for Bjorn to feint and slam his ax into the Raiders side. The Raider gasped in pain as his eyes went to the blade, Bjorn growled as he pulled it out, letting the man fall.

Bjorn looked around, noting that his allies had finished off their opponents, Gorou throwing off his opponent from his shoulders and Charlotte snapping the neck of hers with her chain and looking over to see Soliel pulling out her daggers from the her opponents throat. Bjorn growled as he looked at the clearing, still packed with fighting me. The Berserker growled as he looked around, hoping to find a clear pathway. Bjorn stepped forward, his feet hitting something round. The Berserker looked down to see an old Viking favorite…a fire flask.

A smiled came to his cracked lips as he picked one up, studying it to ensure it wasn't damaged. His eyes fell to the clearing, a calculating look coming over him.

"Boys!" Bjorn yelled, earning the attention of the rest of his group, "I hope you don't mind the fires of Hell…because we're going through them!"

Bjorn threw the fire flask into the group of fighting men, the men all stopping to stare at the liquid in confusion, before the fire erupted, roasting the warriors. The sound of screams was enough to make the warriors around the explosion stop and stare, only to yelp as a Berserker, screaming like demon from hell, leapt over the fire and buried his ax into a nearby warrior. The brief moment of calm shattered as the warriors all returned to fighting, steel meeting steel as they continued. Gorou looked at the raging inferno, before his eyes turned to a nearby destroyed table.

"Follow!" The Shugoki yelled to the two women, throwing the table onto the flames before leaping across it. The pair stared at each other before nodding and following him, the table cracking as Charlotte leapt off of it with Soliel ahead of her. The pair landed on the soft snow and kept running, realizing the now clear pathway. The pair caught up to Bjorn as he pulled his axes out of another poor sod before they barreled out past the barricade, stopping to catch their breath. Bjorn looked around and noticed a pair of horses, their dead riders nearby.

"Easy there…" Bjorn said as he approached, the horses balking at him as he approached, readying to bolt.

"Easy…" The Shugoki said as he approached, the horses seemingly called by his presence. His hand clasped on the reins of the beast and he pulled them over, Bjorn took one of the reins and handed it to Soliel and Charlotte.

"You two," Bjorn growled, earning the pairs attention, "Take the horse and follow the setting sun, there is a horse trail that will lead you to the bottom of the mountain."

"Why would we do that?" Charlotte growled back, "You just helped us escape a slaughter, why shouldn't we return to the Blackstone Legion?"

"Charlotte…" Soliel started before Gorou suddenly interjected, the big man's voice cutting through the cold air.

"Blackstone's are finished," Gorou said, earning a look from the trio, "Samurai are marching."

"That's impossible," Charlotte replied, "The Samurai don't have the man power to defeat Apollyon."

"Charlotte," Soliel said, this time her voice in a commanding tone, "We have to go, the Blackstones here are finished, even if they survive, there is nothing stopping the Viking's from finishing them off. We need to go ahead and report back, we need more men."

Charlotte stared at her companion, confusion coming onto her face. She had spent a lot of time with Soliel but she had never taken this kind of tone with the Conqueror, Charlotte nodded her consent as Soliel climbed upon the horse and offered her hand. Charlotte was pulled onto the horse, the beast seemingly muttering a slight protest before Soliel laid a comforting hand upon it. Bjorn nodded and turned to face Gorou and continued his plan.

"Big man," Bjorn ordered as he pointed at a distant smoke cloud, "That's their forward camp, run there as fast as you can. It'll be difficult, but they won't ask how you escaped."

"You?" The Shugoki asked, a bit of concern coming to his tone.

"I'm taking the horse," Bjorn said as he pulled himself upon it, "I have business I must attend to on my own."

Gorou nodded as he started off towards the smoke cloud and the pair of women nodded as they started off down the mountain, leaving Bjorn to aim his horse and kick its side as he started off towards his destination…the Fort Sigrun.

 **Meanwhile…**

The two women barreled down the mountain path, snow kicking up behind them as their horses breath pumped into steam. Charlotte held tightly to Soliel as the moved before getting the courage to start speaking.

"Why did you stop me back there?" The woman asked, earning a look from Soliel, "We could have met back up with the Blackstones and told them about this route."

"…The large man was right," Soliel replied, "The Blackstones are finished."

"You mean the Samurai? They're weak, they could never match Apollyon!" Charlotte yelled incredulously.

"It's not JUST the Samurai," Soliel answered back with a sigh, "This wasn't meant to be told to anyone besides a trusted few…but the Iron Legion is reforming."

"The Iron Legion? You mean the knights who failed to protect us from the Viking raids in the beginning of this war?" Charlotte growled, clearly not impressed.

"Don't forget, the Blackstone Legion is made up of former Iron Legion veterans, some of whom have returned to their old calling," The Peacekeeper replied, earning a scoff of surprise from Charlotte, "And they returned with their soldiers, battle hardened veterans of this war."

"Surely they cannot match someone like Apollyon and her generals!" Charlotte replied, still in denial of the situation.

"No…unless her generals left for the Iron Legion as well," Soliel replied, "Holden Cross is leading their forces alongside that Warden that Apollyon was so keen on for so long."

"I heard of them," Charlotte replied, "The Warden that defeated Gudmundr, right? Why would a Warden of such renown turn on us?"

"I don't know, but that Warden is now Knight-Commander of the Iron legion and, in the last report I saw, the Iron Legion was on the march." The small woman replied.

"If that's true…then Apollyon really is finished…" Charlotte muttered to herself, the realization setting in, and "…What does that mean for us? The Blackstone Legion was our home, the Viking's won't give us sanctuary after this."

"The Iron Legion still needs good men and women," Soliel said as she looked back at Charlotte, "And you are one of the best women I've ever met. There's a port town a few days travel from the base of the mountain, we can secure passage there."

Charlotte nodded as she looked past Solei's shoulders, a bit of apprehension building in her chest at the thought of leaving the Blackstones, Soliel and her warm words, but in truth, her thought's returned to Bjorn…he saved her, there was no denying that but…could the legend be true? Could he have really married her mother and have been searching for her this entire time? Most importantly…what happened to her mother?

 **A few hours later, at Fort Sigurn…**

Bjorn climbed off his horse, surveying his surroundings. The remnants of a camp still lay around him, bearing the sign of a quick exit. He tied the horse to a nearby post and entered the fort, his jaw set on his prize. The Viking passed by its magnificent halls, now stained with blood and littered with bones and shattered steel, he passed the dining hall, once so full of life and merriment, now filled with silence and shattered wood. He passed by the armory, now stripped bare, leaving only a few grindstones and tables. Finally, he arrived at the command room, the door battered in. The map was gone now, leaving only a solid wooden table, the documents that once littered the table were gone as well. Bjorn could feel the coldness of the room, he had only been in it a few times, especially after Magnus let the knights enter, but he knew that the life of this room had been gone for a long time.

Bjorn walked up to a torn tapestry, this one bearing the tale of Beowulf slaying Grendel's mother with a giant's blade. His hands pulled the tapestry off the wall and revealed a blank wall, the Berserker pulled out a knife and started probing the walls, remembering his brother's words.

"If the fort and I fall," Magnus had told him over a campfire at one point, "Look to Beowulf and Grendel's mother, my will is there. You might still deny my right to call you this, but you're my brother and I can only trust you to carry it out."

Bjorn growled at the memory as his knife suddenly hit loose mortar, the Viking got on his knee and scraped it away. The Berserker smiled…a loose wall…clever Magnus, he stepped back and kicked the wall a few times, the mortar breaking a brickwork falling apart to reveal a chest. It was a medium size chest, too large to just contain paper. Bjorn pondered why as he pulled it out and placed it on the table, the chest was solid but aged. The wood showed scratch marks but it didn't show any rot, Bjorn looked at the lock, a solid iron one at that.

Bjorn leaned back and pondered this, that wood was solid so he wasn't cutting it any time soon and that lock was way too solid to just snap. Where was the key then? Bjorn pondered this as he examined the hole where the chest came from, his eyes stared around it before stopping. The man quickly ran to his horse outside and started searching through its saddle bags and pulling out a torch, he quickly lit it with his ax and some flint from the same bag and ran back into the room. The Viking pushed his torch inside the hole, revealing an odd sight.

It was a shrine, too deep in for the light from outside to illuminate it. Bjorn was puzzled by this, Magnus was a stark Odin worshiper but this shrine felt…odd. It was of the Knight's faith, a wooden cross made of wood. Why would Magnus hide this? Bjorn thought to himself as he pulled the cross out, it was fairly large, the vertical piece was about a foot long and the horizontal piece about half that. The Berserker turned it over, seeing nothing but immaculate wood. Bjorn growled as he slammed the cross onto the table, stopping as he heard a rattle from it.

Bjorn quickly shook the cross again, hearing the slight rattle from inside of it. The Berserker quickly smashed the cross horizontal piece off, revealing a small hollow and from that hollow, a large iron key. Bjorn grinned as he pushed the key into the lock, the clicking of the tumblers turning making him laugh. He quickly threw the lock away and opened the chest to reveal…a set of chainmail and leathers. Bjorn stared at them in a bit of surprise, he quickly pulled the armor out to reveal something he thought was long gone.

Bjorn pulled out a ruined blade and shield, the memories it generated reminded him of a long forgotten past. One he had pushed to the back of his memories a long time ago…one he'd like to forget.

" _Bjorn," The knight had said as he and Bjorn were sifting through the vault of a dead lord, the young Viking turned to face his companion as he held up a runed blade and shield, "These marking's mean anything to you?"_

 _Bjorn rushed over and stared at the runes with youthful curiosity before almost dropping the weapon's entirely, his eyes glazing over with shock._

" _This…this is my name sakes weapon," Bjorn said in shock as he turned it around, "Bjorn was a…he was a Viking warlord who died many lifetimes ago…he was my ancestor…how did his shield end up here?"_

" _Probably got lost and ended up in this vault through trade," The knight said as he leaned over, "We only just got access to this vault a few days ago, and the lord had no heirs and no family. He was eccentric to the end, desiring to get relics from foreign lands."_

" _Well that explains this!" Bjorn said as he pulled up an odd hooked blade, "What even is this thing?"_

" _That's a hook blade from the east!" The knight said as he took it._

" _You mean from the samurai? I've never heard tell of a weapon like this from them." Bjorn said as he continued to examine the sword and shield._

" _No, even farther than them," The knight responded, "Very few have ventured there and even fewer have returned, but no matter…this shield and blade, they belong to your ancestor?"_

" _If they are real, but even if they aren't, these runes and jewels are certainly valuable enough." Bjorn replied as he readied to turn them over to the knights pile of valuables._

" _No Bjorn," The knight said as he put his hands on Bjorn's shoulder, "This belongs to you, it's your ancestors and it will certainly replace that blunt hunk of metal you've been swinging."_

 _The knight laughed as Bjorn threw his undrawn blade at the knight._

" _Still heavy enough to kick your soldier's ass!" Bjorn laughed, only for the two to turn as another knight came rushing in._

" _Sirs…the Iron Legion is here, they want to speak with you my lord." The knight said as he bowed to the knight Bjorn was with._

" _Well Bjorn," He replied as he pulled his kite shield out of the ground, "Let's see what the Legion has got to say to us."_

Bjorn shook himself out of the memory and looked at the blade, tears forming in his eyes. How long ago was that day? Years at least…Bjorn quickly shook himself out of his melancholy, why did Magnus leave this here? This blade should be in their family's hall, not in the middle of a frozen tundra…unless…Bjorn took a deep breath as the meaning hit upon him.

Magnus had children, enough to carry on his name and will…but they were merely babes compared to him. Magnus wasn't desiring for a continuation of his legacy from Bjorn…he was wanting Bjorn to return to his old ways…the ways of the Warlord. The Berserker growled as he slammed the chest shut and turned around, grabbing a nearby chair and throwing it against the wall with a roar. He was no longer fight to be a Warlord, what was Magnus thinking? Bjorn had long since embraced the feral side of his humanity, he couldn't lead an army like his brother could!

Bjorn paced around in a fury as these thoughts came into his mind before he calmed himself, the Viking stopped and took a deep breath before looking at the chest. Bjorn growled as he walked over and grabbed it and hauled it off the table outside, looking around for something to put it on. He stopped as he spotted a cart that had been left behind as part of the swift exit. He slammed the chest onto it as he looked at the nearby horse, he sighed as he walked up to it.

"Be strong…it'll only be for a tad bit longer…" Bjorn muttered as he led the horse to the cart.

 **An hour later…**

Bjorn stood before the three graves, each one marked with the commander's weapon. The Viking turned to the one marked with a sword and shield, a sigh forming upon his lips.

"Magnus…I'm sorry," Bjorn said as he looked at the grave, "I…can't lead our people, not anymore, not like this. I've gone too far to go back to leading them, ever since…Elizabeth was…murdered by the Blackstones…I have never been able to let go of my hatred for them. The Union is dead brother, it will fall apart in time. None of the Viking's have your charisma to keep it going, it might last for a week, a month, maybe even a few years but it will fall apart."

Bjorn took a deep breath.

"I can't keep fighting for them, I just…The knights have done so much to our people, to our family, to…to them, you know who I'm talking about. I guess Godric knows now too, why I hate them so much. The knight's took everything from me, even you brother…everything except…Astrid and Ragnar…and Charlotte. Yes…brother, Charlotte's alive…I don't know what gods rule us but there has to be one for this to happen."

Bjorn turned to the cart and reached for something.

"I can't lead the Union and can't forget what the knights have done to us…but I swear this…I will make the Blackstones pay for this, for your murder, for taking Charlotte away from me, and even for the deaths of those damn Knights and Samurai who died at Sigrun. I can't forget what they did…but I can avenge them. Brother, I'm sorry for this…but I must do this."

Bjorn turned around, a shovel in his hand.

"You and these…warriors deserve a true burial."

 **A few hours later…**

"Halt, state you're…" Layla started before Hilde cut her off with a hand as the cart approached.

"Bjorn…" Hilde said as the cart passed, Layla's mouth quickly shut as she heard the fear in the Valkyries voice. The pair watched as the Viking passed, noticing that the back of the cart had three frozen bodies…with a sword and shield, a pole ax, and a nodachi beside them.


End file.
